The Turbografx 16 vs. The Arcade

What was it like to be an arcade fan and own a Turbografx 16? Pretty damn good, actually...
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By: Jan Neves
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Intro by Evan S.
portfolio.tsestudios.com/
Episode Notes:
1. Captured using emulation and real hardware. The arcade games use MAME. Most of the Turbo games use the Terraonion Super HD System 3 Pro.
2. I had many problems with this video. Some of my files had some kind of funky corruption were the frames would jerky wildly. I had to heavily edit the final content around these issues. It took quite a bit of extra time.
3. Even though the PC Engine was launched in Japan in 1987, it took NEC 2 years to bring it west. Had they launched it in 1988, that generation could have gone very differently.
4. Sega's heavy investment in sports titles really paid off. By the time NEC recognised the need for them, it was far too late.
5. I bought a Turbo Duo soon after its release and sold my stand alone Turbografx. One of my biggest regrets was then selling that Turbo Duo to help fund my other systems. I missed it immediately.
6. NEC really made some dumb decisions with the Turbo. They kept the one controller port, tried to sell adapters to use composite cables and extra controllers, and charged an absolute fortune for the Turbo CD.
7. Many of the better arcade ports for this platform were never released in the US. There are literally dozens of shooters most people don't even know exist.
8. In 1994, NEC released the Arcade Card for the PC Engine CD. It increased the RAM of the unit to a whopping 16 megabits. This was a massive upgrade and allowed some pretty nifty ports of a few Neo Geo titles. To compare, the Sega CD only had 6 megs.

[@Savitor]

To answer your question, Hell yeah we enjoyed the video and want more TurboGrafx stuff! 😄👍🎮

[@DieselJT]

The Turbografix 16 was and always will be one of the coolest home consoles to ever exist! I still have my console, plus the Turbo Express and the Turbografix Mini! Such a great collectors piece!

[@Bloodreign1]

Arcade ports are always a topic of interest, lets keep on with these.

[@pizzabagel3840]

I'm always happy to see more TurboGrafx content.

[@WickedGamerCollector]

I did buy a PC-Engine some time ago and I love it to. What an amazing piece of hardware even in 2022 😳

[@execation]

Was it in "a package from China"..? 😂 Love your vids dude.

[@jay1177]

@@execation 🤣🤣

[@AntiXGeeK]

I bought a TG-16 when I was a teen, then a Duo :D missed the system, I now have two PC Engines(one CoreGrafx) a Super SD System 3 and an EverDrive... Of course I had to buy a hucard for nostalgia ;) Side Arms

[@akalyx]

i hate that i had no absolutely no knowledge of it growing up

[@AMMAZZARE]

Aye! It’s Wicked! Love your channel, man.

[@johncarolina4950]

You mentioning Phar-Mor just sent me directly to 1993

[@NeoTurboManiac78]

This video provides further evidence of how underrated the TurboGrafx was in its day. I agree that one of its strengths was the quality of the arcade ports. I was fortunate to have enjoyed these games back when nearly everyone else was on Team Sega or Nintendo. A few other arcade ports that stand out are Forgotten Worlds, Dragon Spirit, Klax (I played this more than Tetris), and with the Arcade Card, Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury 2 and Special, and World Heroes 2.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

The best shit never made it to the TG-16. The only PC-Engine game I owned growing up was AfterBurner II 👍. Import games were expensive & difficult to come by.

[@joesshows6793]

It was more about the one controller port and very very short controller cables that made it not the system to get. I did own it and the turbo duo for a short time but it was too much of a pain to play with console tv setups

[@IdentityCrisis1581]

The turbo grafx was more like a 12bit system. Or 8.5 how ever you want to look at it. But basically it was considered 16bit mostly because it could display 16bit colors and had a powerful sound card. But all of that was still backed by an 8bit main processor. I always wondered what it could have done if it had been truely 16bit all around rather than 16bit sound and color pallet ran off an 8bit processor.

[@joesshows6793]

@@IdentityCrisis1581 exactly. It was kinda a NES but a little more ‘super’.

[@Residentevil1998racooncity]

Yep but sega and nintendo took all the good games and the system wasnt true 16 bit console

[@AnthonyFlack]

I'm also old enough to remember when the first Street Fighter arcade game came out and although it's considered janky these days, it really did seem amazing at the time. By way of comparison, consider that before Street Fighter, the premiere fighting game was Data East's Karate Champ. There's nothing wrong with Karate Champ, but try to imagine what Street Fighter would have looked like coming out of that era.

[@MrBoyYankee]

Just as long as it doesn't have those knuckle busting control pads.

[@AnthonyFlack]

@@MrBoyYankee - so many terrible control pads in the 80s!

[@AnthonyFlack]

@@MrBoyYankee - kind of funny to think that the standard 6-button Street Fighter control scheme came about because of that failed attempt at using two analogue buttons. Six buttons is more than any sensible designer would choose but from that day forward arcade sticks would have six buttons, just for Street Fighter.

[@jamesmoss3424]

The Turbogarfx-16 still excellent today. 😀👍🎮

[@SegaLordX]

Yup. Beast library.

[@JoshuaJaeger]

I would love to see more Turbografx ports vs. other console videos!!

[@SegaLordX]

Thanks for the feedback.

[@JoshuaJaeger]

@Altered Beast I guess I don't know what you mean? Saru's games and streams are pretty great contributions to the gaming community. :)

[@JoshuaJaeger]

@Altered Beast hmmm, if you say so, haha!

[@TheColdest247]

To me the Turbo will go down as one of the most underrated systems ever made period!

[@SegaLordX]

Yup. Most people have no clue how cool it was.

[@AntiXGeeK]

@@SegaLordX I've shown friends my PC Engine, and they are impressed, "it came out when??"

[@TheColdest247]

@@AntiXGeeK if I'm not mistaken I believe the PC engine was released in 1987.

[@AntiXGeeK]

@@TheColdest247 yup, and tg-16 was in 1989

[@58jharris]

It had impressive color capabilities.

[@themrnails]

No need to ask if we want more TG16 game... just do it! Thanks for the content! ;p

[@jessragan6714]

My understanding is that Hudson had designed the TurboGrafx-16 as a successor to the Famicom, and offered it to Nintendo on those terms. They weren't interested, waiting years (and years) until finally releasing the Super Famicom instead. The PC Engine had a pretty good run in Japan anyway, under the auspices of NEC. They just had no idea how to market it in a country as large as the United States. I guess the problem is that NEC tried to concentrate its marketing on large cities, which worked well enough in its native Japan, but misses a large chunk of the overall population in America. The other thing which you touched upon is that the games chosen for localization were very much not to American tastes, with all the fun stuff from the original releases censored. JJ & Jeff? Really now.

[@Zahir658]

I think it could be due to cultural differences. There's a reason why the XBOX also struggled so much in Japan as well.

[@Zahir658]

@LunarVVolf Yep. Maybe they kinda don't trust the Yanks which is why Saturn was only successful in Japan. I think at that time, America was not used to anime artstyle games.

[@zanegandini5350]

@LunarVVolf Yeah, Sega really would have done better if they had taken Tom Kalinske's advice on things. It's because of his marketing genius that the Genesis competed as well as it did against the SNES, but the Japanese parent company didn't want to heed his warnings regarding the 32x and especially the idiotic early surprise launch of the Saturn.

[@chfgn]

I think the big problem in the US was an American subsidiary that didn't understand video games. It was a bunch of people from the home audio hi-fi industry trying to market a game console and never really figuring out just how different those markets were. They delayed the thing by a year just to make it larger and heavier for heckin' sake.

[@FrancoisRoy]

I remember my jaw dropping when I saw Adventure Island running on the TurboGraphX demo booth at my local mall Radio Shack back in the days..

[@AntiXGeeK]

I bought my Turbo at Radio Shack too

[@Zahir658]

The PC-Engine is one of my favourite underrated consoles along with Sega Saturn.

[@maroon9273]

Both were marketed terrible in the west and eu regions. Imagine if it was marketed well, they're history would've been different in a more popular light.

[@Zahir658]

@@maroon9273 Indeed.

[@Myako]

The Turbografx 16 deserves a lot of love. Great video. 👏🏻👏🏻💪🏻💪🏻

[@mattmungrin4792]

Sega Lord X I hope you never stop making videos. You literally make my favorite content on the internet.

[@SegaLordX]

That means a lot. Thank you.

[@acecarrera1]

I love Vigilante on the arcade, if only I knew there was faithful console version of it back in the day.

[@Albert8044]

Bloody Wolf also had 80's action movies pop culture, it's a reference to Arnie's Commando and Chuck Norris Missing in Action.

[@ronaldclayton8347]

The TG16 had some awesome very close to the arcade game ports gradius, salamander,bloody wolf,ninja spirit,splatter house,rtype and the list goes on.I also loved the fantastic Zelda clones neutopia 1 and 2. Military madness was probably my favorite,it is one of if not the best hexagon grid military strategy game ever made i probably spent more time with that one than the rest combined.I had bought a TG16 system from a video store that was selling off the systems stock in fall 1996 for $25,and it was actually a system that had never been rented still packed new and fresh.Not only that they had tons of complete games for $3 each even had all the cardboard boxes the CD style cases came in new.I owned all the games previously mentioned plus many more about 30 total I think and they were all the best classics for the system.I played the hell out of it but didn't realize what it would become one day so I let all kinds of friends borrow it.Within a few years(by 1999)the system and games were lost to time and I regret it constantly.

[@DreamcastQ]

Love seeing the Turbo, my friend growing up got it new and it was so cool, it felt more "Japanese" than the NES or Genesis to me and I loved playing TG16 at their house! Splatterhouse was mind-blowing at home in 1989 or 90 to us elementary school kids

[@DrJav1977]

More TurboGrafx content would be great. Arcade vs. is cool, but any TG16. Thank you.

[@tomevil6]

I am glad to see my favorite Sega channel cover some Turbografx 16 games! I feel like the Turbografx 16 is overlooked and deserves more love.

[@johnnada6855]

Before the Saturn and 3DO, the Turbo versions of the SNK fighters were the real cheap alternative to the Neogeo AES system

[@madyak6669]

The TurboGrafx duo was my go-to system for arcade conversions back when I was at school. R Type complete CD was the pinnacle for me

[@Monhamd1000]

The Turbografx-16 deserves to sell better as well Although i have every rom if it!

[@Ihnini]

More like these please. Thank you

[@SegaLordX]

And thank you for watching.

[@MetalGateDragon]

I never owned a TurboGrafx 16 ever in my life. I lived in Puerto Rico at the time and the NES was the way to go in 1987. But I recently acquired a TurboGrafx 16 mini in the last few months and I've been loving it.

[@shiningphantasy1393]

With some of the Turbo games like Bloody Wolf and Ninja Spirit I didn't even think of them as arcade ports since those game cabinets were not often found in arcades; I never discovered either of the two aforementioned games anywhere but on the Turbografx. Other more common cabinets like R-Type and Splatterhouse were very good home Turbografx representations for the time. Bloody Wolf was the best game of its' type in 1990, easily besting Rambo 3 for the Genesis (Which was solid also); love the music in Bloody Wolf and the sprawling levels.

[@mattb6522]

Great episode! I'd definitely like to see more TurboGrafx 16 content. I only got to experience games on the Turbo Grafx 16/CD decades later on the Wii Virtual Console, but I enjoyed what I played. I only had an NES and Genesis growing up in the 90's, but never had a chance to play the TG 16. It really is an underrated system that unfortunately wasn't as big in the US. I'm at least glad I can still play it now as I missed out on a ton of its excellent games!

[@danielespeziari5545]

This is a system I really need to put more time into

[@Blackson187]

I love the visuals of the Turbografx. It looks like a super charged NES.

[@RolandoMarreroPR]

It was a Turbocharged NES instead!

[@beefquiche]

your videos are like a warm blanket of goodness - please never stop haha!

[@SegaLordX]

haha. Thank you.

[@ChannelCortez33]

I love episodes on the Turbo Grafix/PC Engine, so please keep them coming!

[@Gryzor88]

The PCE has amazing arcade ports and they‘re even better now, when played with a proper arcade stick. Hidden gem: Son Son II by Capcom & NEC - a reskinned home port of Black Tiger with super responsive controls.

[@Wesleyrpg]

Hey SLX, more please that was fantastic! I'm about to complete my Lynx collection and am looking to start collecting for a new console soon! I've been eyeing off the PC Engine/TG-16 for a while now. Loved your video, but don't restrict the TG-16 games to arcade ports, lets have a top 20 of your favourite TG-16 games! Thanks

[@SegaLordX]

I'll keep that in mind.

[@franciscor390]

Truly staggering how great some of these ports were, it's surprising regarding the limitations, some of them even seemed to have small improvements as smoother scrolling and such.

[@zackschilling4376]

Ive never seen a Ninja Spirit, Bloody Wolf or Splatterhouse arcade cab anywhere, and I went to quite a few different arcades in the NW Indiana/Chicagoland area. I didnt even know they were originally released in the arcade. R-Type and Klax were my favorite TG-16 arcade conversions. I remember playing them as a kid and being blown away.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

I played Splatterhouse at a local mall, grocery store, + a Dairy Queen. A nearby convenience store had Ninja Spirit. Bloody Wolf was pretty rare for me, but I saw it at least once in an arcade.

[@SonofSethoitae]

Legend of Valkyrie is one of my personal favourite PCE/TG16 games. No idea how well it compares to the arcade, but the home port is fun

[@menhirmike]

There was also an awesome version of Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition on the TG16 as well, though I guess it's really best remembered as a Shmup monster, especially in Japan. I like the 8/16-Bit era specifically because of its Arcade ports, since compromises had to be made even into the 32-Bit era. Games like Altered Beast on the Genesis might not have aged well (I don't like it very much), but having something so close to the Arcade back in the late 80's was pretty impressive. The TG16 was the Sega Dreamcast of it's time: A fantastic game library and very capable hardware, but just didn't succeed in the market.

[@darktetsuya]

definitely a system I wish I owned back then! seems like some pretty good arcade ports for the most part.

[@mdjfusion]

I'd be happy to watch more of these PC-Engine/TurboGrafx arcade conversion videos. I recently tried out the Vigilante PC-Engine port on my RPi4 and it's a really faithful interpretation of the arcade, the best one that I'm aware of. I'd also suggest covering the SuperGrafx ports - Daikakaimura/Ghouls 'n Ghosts is the best port on any system IMO.

[@mdjfusion]

@whatsapp +⓵⓺⓪⓽⓶⓷⓻⓵⓼⓵⓪ That's OK, you can keep it.

[@streetmagik3105]

I used to rent games from Pharmor back in the day. They had every system, even the portable systems games for rent, which I never saw anywhere else, and they were cheap! Good times 😊

[@SegaLordX]

Yup. There was no place like it in my town.

[@markshadows3667]

I loved Phar Mor! I used to rent the most random vhs movies from there as a teen. They were 49 cents i think to rent. Section was always disheveled though

[@lhfirex]

I'd be interested in more videos on the TG16/PC Engine. Really underrated system, not explored a lot by retro game channels and stuff since a lot of the library is Japanese, but full of hidden gems.

[@IMDLEGEND]

Yes more, please! I never had a TG-16. It is one of the few retro systems that I have no experience with at all, but it still fascinates me to this day. I remember getting a promotional VHS tape in the mail promoting the Turbo Duo when it came out, but by then I was starting to keep my eyes peeled for the 32-bit generation.

[@vallaurianv6024]

Great Video SLX! I’d love another episode of this. I’ve got 41 PC Engine Hucards and love the little system. I’ve got Bloody Wolf, Splatterhouse, R Type, Fantasy Zone and more from this list. Always looking to add more…

[@grgmj1980]

Thank you for your hard work and dedication. Always looking forward to your videos. May God bless you with everything you need to continue.

[@SegaLordX]

So nice of you. Thank you.

[@BrianJones-wk8cx]

Great coverage-the TG-16 was indeed a wildly under appreciated machine. And if you consider the Turbo Express (a device I would have given my left leg for as a kid), it was the only way to have authentic arcade experiences on the go, including Street Fighter II.

[@SegaLordX]

The TurboExpress was mythical back then. It was expensive so few had one.

[@BrianJones-wk8cx]

@@SegaLordX Exactly! I remember flipping through GamePro back in the day and just drooling over it. I had the GameBoy (which I loved), but I still want a TurboExpress to this day, just can’t justify the spend. If only money where no object! But to answer your question in the video, definitely would love to see more of arcade ports for TG-16! Great work as always!

[@JopieHaargel]

I would love to see more! I have a major soft spot for these types of arcade games and the underdog that is the Turbografx. Impressive stuff!

[@JoeyJoeJoe87]

I agree number 1

[@derekbuckler9888]

The TurboGrafx 16 was a severely underrated system. It had a great library of games, and some really good arçade translations. One of my favorites being splatter house

[@Gaming_since_the_eighties]

The Turbografx 16 was a unique console. I would like to see more episodes, like Turbografx 16 VS Sega Dreamcast or something like that.

[@kennethd4958]

The TG16 is one of the few consoles I never owned... I worked at Stone Age Gamer and it was having to test the Turbo Everdrives that made me appreciate the TG16. I hope to pick one up one day. I love these comparison videos.

[@iamtheflu]

you wont regret it. i finally picked up a tg16 a few years ago and a turbo everdrive. best $200 i ever spent.

[@gamehuggers3700]

Anytime you do PC Engine or Turbografx vids we love it!!

[@SegaLordX]

That's good to hear. I enjoy doing them.

[@ghostito]

As a kid I had a crush on the TurboGrafx, from what I could see in magazines it seemed to me like having an arcade at home, I loved Raiden and Aero Blasters in the arcades, and the TGX screenshots looked like arcade perfect. "Sadly" it wasn't a well marketed machine in Spain, hard to find in stores and not much advertising; lucky me, because I ended up with the Megadrive.

[@XTRABIG]

Aero blasters!!! Played that forever.

[@MitchGurowitz]

It still has a place in my heart and over the years I’ve even bought Japanese models with CD support and lots of Japanese titles. I recall a local toy store having the Turbografx laserdisc running on a loop and I would watch it over and over (I was in my 20’s) and I couldn’t help buy buy one and followed it up with the CD peripheral (which btw, was an amazing audiophile CD player). Then the TurboExpress. Still nostalgic for this system but it remains on my list of systems that never got the attention or financial success that they deserved. (Along with Neo Geo and Dreamcast). Still to this day, I find Japanese games on eBay.

[@darinherrick9224]

i would like to see more because TG-16 is just so amazing and had so many incredible colorful fast-paced games.

[@Derek-mg2le]

Cadash is one of my favorites! Just something about that game, I loved the Turbo version. Stages were more faithful to the arcade than the Genesis and having all the characters made it fun to replay.

[@WarioSaysSo]

I liked this episode idea of having; "Console versions vs. Arcade" of ported games :-) Like to see more of these.

[@Chan_Prado]

Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your videos! Your narration is informative and chill, and your video editing is excellent. Thanks for updating the channel with fresh takes on games and systems!

[@yama_yama_yama]

Yes more videos like this please, thank you. I love watching and learning about gaming history with the kiddos.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

Great video would love to see a continuation about the CD-based arcade + the Sega arcade conversions 👍. SuperGrafx arcade ports, too!

[@thehumbleone1983]

I always wanted Ninja Spirit to be ported to the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis back in the good old days and was always jealous that it was on the PC Engine

[@thedrunkmonkshow]

I love Bloody Wolf and was lucky enough to play it in the late 90's with Magic Engine emulator for MSDOS. I didn't know it was a port at the time and once I both found out about the arcade version and MAME's emulation got better and played the Arcade version it was jarring for me because the framerate, gameplay and music was lacking. Sure it has 2 player but to me this is one of the first times when the home conversion was better than the arcade release. It bothered me so much that I researched the hardware and the arcade version of Bloody Wolf is basically running on a PC Engine equivalent. Maybe the arcade game was rushed and spending a year to convert it to the PC Engine meant they were able to refine things and flesh out more ideas. It's not the best run 'n gun but it has charm, much better music, better frame-rate and more levels. There's portions that are really difficult with checkpoints but at least there's unlimited continues. Overall that and Ninja Spirit stood out the most with the early releases. I miss Pharmor by the way lol. I rented a lot of NES and Genesis games from them as a kid growing up in those plastic cases with the orange super-hero guy on the cover.

[@joezep]

Always great to see some Turbo Grafx coverage. Your arcade comparison series are some of my favorite topics you cover, so I am looking forward to this! :)

[@chaospoet]

It's a little funny (not in a ha ha way) I was watching a Spida1a video like a month/month and a half ago where he was reminiscing about how his "Turbo Views" series covering every North American (and a few PC Engine games here and there) Turbografx game came about 12 or so years ago. He was saying how everyone was talking about NES/Super Nintendo and Genesis games but no one was talking about Turbografx. Now here we are years later with a video on Turbografx games and being asked if we want more? My how the times have changed. And YES! I will always watch something about this wonderful machine and it's games.

[@rafadono]

The pc engine is an amazing system, it's a shame that it wasn't successful on the west

[@mortenera2294]

Amazing video! Most of these ports are near arcade perfect, and that's from a cheap 8-bit console released in 1987. Another conversion you should cover is Wonderboy In Monster Land (Or Bikkuriman World on PC Engine), it IS a perfect arcade-to-home translation in my eyes

[@primus711]

Wouldn't call it 8bit as that isn't what it is

[@Chaz4543]

Being able to rent games at drug stores and department stores seems like it was a regional thing because where I grew up I dont remember being able to rent games at anything other than video stores.

[@Chaz4543]

@@FloridaEbikes Yeah Im from the northeast. Its very different from the midwest or south. I looked up phar mor and it said its like CVS and Walgreens well CVS and Walgreens here definitely didnt have game and movie rentals. The northeast is more advanced in some ways but not so much in others. Groceries didnt have game and movie rentals.

[@andrewglazier8940]

I bought both a Sega Genesis and a Turbografx-16 my freshman year of high school, and while the Genesis became my favorite console of all time, TG-16 is still in my top five of all time, and it's library is awesome. I sold my Commodore 64 and cut a lot of lawns to afford these. I also worked at the county fair that summer of '89, carrying a drink tray up the grand stands, selling cups of coke while the demolition derby or tractor pulls took place. It was probably the best year of my life.

[@robertdragon9478]

I'm happy to subscribe to your channel lord X🤘

[@SegaLordX]

Thank you. Glad to have you aboard.

[@RGF]

I would see more indeed....😊

[@SeeD1985]

Yep, great subject. Would love to see more

[@SomeOrangeCat]

It definitely had the potential for greatness, and sometimes it could hold its own against even the Genesis, but its hybrid 8-bit/16-bit design really put an early expiration date on it.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

Less slowdown than the newer & more advanced SNES, overall. Too bad the SuperGrafx failed. I love that thing.

[@SegaLordX]

I always felt NEC gave up on it way to soon. I don't think it was ever gonna displace the other consoles, but it could have done so much better than it did.

[@primus711]

@@SegaLordX i dont think so they threw tons of upgrades to it its the supergrafx and pc-fx that they gave up on and the pc-fx should have came with the 3d chip like whats in the dos and pc98 cards

[@SomeOrangeCat]

@@SegaLordX They didn't know what to do with it in the west. The advertising here for it was atrocious.

[@maroon9273]

@@primus711 the 3d accelerator inside the the pc fx would've made the console much better to compete with its competitors.

[@kennethd4958]

I loved Phar-Mor! Some of my earliest memories are browsing the NES and Genesis games at their video rental section to see what game I'd be taking home for the weekend.

[@digsbious]

Great video! Phar-Mor used to be my Friday night hangout spot.

[@SegaLordX]

I actually worked there for bit. Good times.

[@fusoya6544]

Great video and I'd love to see more PC Engine / Arcade comparrisons. Dragon Spirit and Vigilante were other early impressive conversions and seeing the miracle that was Street Fighter II CE on hardware released in 1987 was just incredible.

[@Gatorade69]

Cool take on Street Fighter/Fighting Street. Everyone likes to crap on it since two is just light years ahead of it but I guess without the first game there wouldn't be a Street Fighter 2. Personally I have never seen the game as I was pretty young when Street Fighter 2 hit the arcades or in my case the local convenience store down the street. Also some of those games simply look better on the TG16 like Bloody Wolf. It's definitely a console I really had no idea about. None of my friends owned one and nowhere close had TurboGrafx rentals.

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

I was old enough to experience it, and....well, the graphics were great. But even compared to Double Dragon's player vs. player modes, the gameplay felt a bit rough and awkward. The only part of it that's really nostalgic for me, is the attract sequence, because it was mostly ignored. Even Karate Champ and WWF Superstars were getting more attention as one on one fighters.

[@xenonronin7789]

Great video as always ! I Absolutely loved the Turbographix16 I had all those years ago even though I only had 3 games for it and no rental stores in my area had TG16 games. I loved both Legendary Axe and especially Splatterhouse since that game is the reason horror or Survival Horror games are still my favorite genre of videogame to this day. Resident Evil and Dead Space all exist today because of games like Splatterhouse and Sweet Home on NES.

[@3diamonds524]

Ninja Spirits arcade version is available on Switch. I remember being amazed by the TG16 version as a kid, but didn't own the system.

[@GenerationalGamer]

Ninja Spirits is on the mini consoles. Excellent game. The arcade game looks better, but the home port is far better.

[@jessragan6714]

@@GenerationalGamer It's kind of nice to have a health bar, you know? The arcade game didn't have that, which meant that any mistake on your part was one too many.

[@GenerationalGamer]

@@jessragan6714 I agree with you there. The life bar makes all of the difference. The arcade game is tough!

[@RolandoMarreroPR]

Plus it had amazing parallax scrolling! Ninja Gaiden needed this! Would love to see MVG or Game Hut explain how this was done!

[@GenerationalGamer]

@@RolandoMarreroPR I compared the NES and PCE versions of Ninja Gaiden. Graphically, the PCE is better, but the music and gameplay was so much better on the NES.

[@Vulpas]

Old Sega mobile games is a largely unexplored topic on KZbin, maybe a video about that?

[@BobbyLips]

Phar-Mor BUYING POWER!!! I miss that store and Hills. Phar-Mor lives on to some degree with Marc’s.

[@philmason9653]

NEC Lord X. I've got all the time in the world for the old PCE/TG-16, it's really amazing seeing some of those games side by side, and just how capable that graphics chip really was. Both NEC's North American and Japanese branches messed up in the West. NA was overconfident and spent on manufacturing systems for demand that wasn't there, instead of advertising. While Japan was over-conservative after it faltered out of the gate in NA, and wouldn't spend or approve high profile titles. It's absolutely insane that after launching their CD add-on with Fighting Street as the marquee title, the excellent PC-Engine version of Street Fighter II Champion Edition was never localized...at a time when it was literally the most popular game in the world. Konami's excellent PCE stuff stayed in Japan. Tons of high profile rpgs, the sequel to Military Madness, Compile's Spriggan games, so much was stranded. I'd definitely be up for more videos in this vein.

[@tonyflores4956]

I went from genesis to turbo as a kid as well. A very enjoyable video, thank you.

[@priorwitness]

Grew up in the 80s and 90s and never gave the console a look until around 2017 when I snagged a Raspberry Pi and started emulating the TurboGrafx 16 out of pure curiosity. I may be 40 now, but better late than never :). I'm glad we at least can emulate this stuff today, because this underrated gem of a console has a ton of great games on it! It's a shame it wasn't as successful as it was. I think you're right: it just wasn't marketed well at all. All I remember seeing in the stores when it came to the console was Power Golf and of course the pack-in title. Why would I give up Mario and Contra for that? I don't remember ever seeing a single commercial for it, either, and I watched Saturday morning cartoons as religiously as the next kid. I wish I knew then what I know now. But it's all good. At least we have it today in a number of different ways to enjoy!

[@oleschoolgamers]

I picked up my TurboGrafx 16 in 1988 after saving up about 6 months. Ninja Spirit, Splatterhouse, and Bloody Wolf were my go to games. I was truly happy with it and picked up the Genesis the year after since I was such as huge arcade fan. Both had quality arcade titles and I still enjoy and play both today!

[@retrogamerecluse]

Yeah, give us more content like this - always nice to mix things up! 👍

[@nmpltleopardi]

Great video! :) After 'Rainbow Islands', here are my fave coin op conversions (Besides R-Type + pretty much all games you covered here): Tower of Druaga (enhanced version not faithful port but it makes it Oh!, so much better!); Tatsujin/Truxton, Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Parodius Da!. Other Arcade to PCE good ports: After Burner ii; Space invaders - Fukkatso no hi; Vigilante; Bikkuriman World (sprite swap conversion of Wonder Boy Monster Land); The NewZealand Story; Liquid Kids; Operation Wolf; Mr. Heli no Daibouken; Valkyrie no densetsu; Super Volleyball; Detana! TwinBee; Gradius 1&2 (Gradius 2 on CD); Dragon Saber; Kyuukyoku Tiger (liberties are taken but still great); 1941 counter attack; Street Fighter 2 champion; Salamander; Xevious; Raiden ------ I focused on HuCard games as these seem more impressive to me due to memory restrictions :^)

[@ToNyG78]

This was my first home console. I picked it up at Toy R Us for $50. I found out why it was so cheap later but I was the talk of the neighborhood because everyone either had a Nintendo or Genesis. It's great to see video that showcase this system.

[@EKlicKKlacK3]

Definitely deserves another one of these videos! Cotton and Kiki Kaikai are 2 of my favorite arcade ports!

[@donjohnson7768]

I remember my friend at the time was so convinced the turbo was superior to the genesis in every way and when I saw Splatterhouse at his place I was ALMOST convinced, but by Christmas 93' I was happy I stuck with Sega

[@maroon9273]

And more programming and hardware expansion friendly as well.

[@jasonblalock4429]

I'd definitely be interested in more TG16 videos. It's the one console from the time I never had, so it's fun learning about the games I missed out on.

[@transtremm]

Phar-Mor had an amazing self serve candy isle. Fill up a plastic bag, pay by weight. Loved it!

[@amaweksIII]

Loved the video, you can sure make this a series of videos. The PCE will always be at our hearts.

[@Scrapla1]

I remember watching the demo's at the Turbo display in Toys-R-Us but was not able to get one until much later after it was discontinued. I always loves how vibrant the colors were, the huge sprites and the gritty sound!

[@sonicsega1699]

im interested in a tg16 collection. do more vids please.

[@forcedfeedbackclassicgamer5499]

R*Type on TG16 is a damn near perfect conversion. Definitely one of my favorite titles on the system. Was playing just this past weekend. Galaga 90 freakin' rocks, too, excellent port. So many great arcade ports on the TG16...

[@SeanScorpion]

I appreciate the personal story you have for most of the games in this review. Doing an emulator overview is one thing but actually have been there is quite another.

[@crispitycrunchy]

Just got a PC Engine a couple days back, so it’s really awesome to see someone I watch regularly upload a video that relates to it!

[@SegaLordX]

Glad I could help.

[@travissmith8017]

Cadash is great if you pick the mage and grind some early, his spells nuke the bosses instantly in most cases.

[@lucianoclaudio2335]

In the right hands, the TG16 was a champ. CAPCOM did a great port of SF2. Now, can you imagine if video game developer Treasure (Gunstar Heroes , Guardian Heroes and lots more), which is known to make the impossible with limited hardware, we’re more involved with TG16/PCE!!??? I bought my TG16 at Toys R Us in Puerto Rico, at the very end of its cycle for $50. Then had to order most of my games , if not all of them, through a company call Turbo something. Back then , COD(Cash on Door), was still around. So you didn’t had to use a credit card. Wow. Life was better before

[@outfoxmedia5090]

Indeed